The Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust (AGCT) was formed in October 2017 “to seek community ownership of the Cairngorm Ski Area and Infrastructure, in order to ensure that it is more effectively managed for mountain visitors, employees, and the local and wider community”.
That purpose was recorded at the end of the minutes of their first AGM, almost three years ago in November 2018:
Mike Gale closed the meeting by thanking members for attending the meeting and reiterating that AGCT’s goal was a future successful ski area at Cairngorm Mountain”
It is still still reflected in the banner headline on the AGCT website:
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE)’s response to the creation of the Trust and the potential takeover of their property at Cairngorm was first, in 2019, to offer the AGCT grant money to employ staff (see here) but then to ward off their attentions from Cairn Gorm. Parkswatch contributors thought the AGCT had made a major mistake when, at HIE’s instigation, they decided in 2020 to take on a totally different project, an ice rink in Aviemore (see here). We thought this would embroil the AGCT in a project they could never deliver and divert their attentions from the key issue, the future of downhill skiing at Cairn Gorm.
I am happy to admit that we were wrong on the first part. Eighteen months ago the AGCT had almost no cash 
but since then it has raised £110,000, of which over £60,000 has come from the community and local business donations.
It has secured a site, free of charge for seven months, and planning permission (see here) for the rink, near the site of the old rink which was demolished and where permission had been granted to build a new rink twenty years ago:
- finding/negotiating a more permanent site and one that is affordable, the risk being that if the rink becomes successful MacDonald Resorts or other potential landowners will hike the rent. That might put community land-ownership back onto AGCT’s agenda.
- making the ice rink sustainable in terms of energy use (I think it was right the Cairngorms National Park Authority has contributed £25k but from the Green Recovery Fund?).
- and whether the AGCT can develop the capacity to turn its attentions back to Cairn Gorm.
I think that the idea for AGCT (or some other community trust) to take over Corie na Ciste makes a lot of sense. The big problem is that the last thing that HIE and CMSL want is competition on their doorstep. After all such a move would just show up how inept HIE and CMSL have been over the years in their muddled attempts to run Cairngorm Mountain.
I will go further and say that unless a community trust like AGCT is given the support and freedom to develop Corie na Ciste – with the motorhome park, winter sports and as a nature centre, Cairngorm Mountain as a tourism attraction is dead. The planning of the future of public use of the mountain of Cairn Gorm MUST be taken away from HIE. When will the Scottish Government waken up to this fact.